Principal's Log

Our community enjoyed the opportunity to join with our Year 12 students of 2021 and their families as they celebrated their Graduation, Farewell Chapel and Formal. The dignity, warmth, gratitude, energy and sense of joy at each of these occasions made them memorable times of celebration and connection. We thank our 2021 cohort for the wonderful way in which they finished and wish them well as they now move forward into the next phase of their lives. We thank all of the teachers and staff who have contributed so positively to their growth, and the parents for their trust and faith in the College and their contribution to College life. We thank Head of Senior College Students, Ms Leigh Finter and Office Manager, Mrs Leanne Bevis for their leadership and all staff who assisted in making these celebrations such a rich community experience.

A strong buzz of energy and excitement flowed as the Year 6 Pacific Plus students shared their learnings with teachers, parents, peers and students from other year levels.  The invitational program trialed this year with Year 6 students, provided the opportunity for highly able students to delve deeply into an area of inquiry. The inquiry projects included: "Where do forgotten thoughts go?", "What would the world look like if we advanced in air travel with the same concepts used for road travel?", "How can I change Da Vinci's flight machine to work and possibly be used in the future?", "Can I create travel with sound?" and "How do magpies recognise us?".  “Pacific Plus is an extension and enrichment program for highly able learners with a focus on developing connections with like-minded peers, embracing academic talent and contributing to a culture of academic excellence”.  We thank Mrs Jo Belchamber and Mrs Adele Byerlee and their team for this very successful innovation for 2021. We look forward to its extension into Year 6, 7 and 8 in 2022. 

Congratulations to Year 10 student Ella Jarick who achieved recognition in the 2021 Poem Forest competition. This Australia-wide competition attracted over 5000 entries and Ella was among the fourteen students who were acknowledged. Her poem ‘The Reawakening’ was Highly Commended in the Upper Secondary division. This is a remarkable achievement. You can read her poem here. We congratulate all of our Mathematics students who performed well in various competitions throughout the year including Year 11 student Noah Winten and Year 7 student Oliver Friend who achieved High Distinctions in the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC). We also congratulate students who received Distinctions in the AMC and in the ICAS Mathematics competition.

We farewell a number of staff at the end of the year.  It is a testament to the rich culture of learning at the College that many of these staff are taking on new leadership opportunities within and outside of the College.

We thank outgoing Director of Staff, Ms Marg Gunn for her positive, encouraging and supportive leadership of staff and attention to detail in the day to day running of the College. Her very generous gift of time has seen a significant improvement in a range of processes and the co-curricular culture of the College. Staff and students have greatly appreciated her warmth and support. 

We thank outgoing Heads of Department, Mrs Tina Cox as Head of English, Mrs Janine Delaney as Head of Drama, Mrs Elley Wood as Head of Humanities and Mrs Aleisha Tuaine as Head of Music. Each of these women have strongly and very capably led a strong culture of learning and growth within their areas of responsibility and made a very valuable contribution to shaping the College culture. They have all grown their departments from simple beginnings to those of strength within the College and been generous with their time to support co-curricular activities. The strong relationships they have formed with staff and students have been greatly valued. We thank Mrs Cox for her leadership of English, the nurturing of debating and public speaking and commitment to the growth of our learning culture, Mrs Elley Wood for her leadership of the Humanities Department that has included commitment to the enhancement of high quality, rich and relevant learning opportunities, Mrs Delaney for her growth of a high quality and engaging performing arts culture and Mrs Aleisha Tuaine for the growth of a vibrant music culture. We look forward to Mrs Delaney continuing to share her talent as the Director of our senior productions. We congratulate Mr Alex O’Connor (Middle and Senior Mathematics and Science teacher) on his appointment as Head of Mathematics at Mt Maria College and thank him for his leadership of debating and generous contribution to the co-curricular program of the College including the senior productions and sport.  We also express our appreciation to P-12 music teacher Mr David Simpfendorfer who is moving to Adelaide with his family. Mr Simpfendorfer has brought enthusiasm and energy to all that he does and we thank him for his generous support of our class and co-curricular program including the Chapel band.

We wish Mrs Cox, Mrs Delaney and Mr Simpfendorfer every blessing as they move to a new phase of life and Mrs Wood, Mrs Tuaine, Mr O’Connor and Ms Gunn all the best as they take up new leadership opportunities.

We thank Mrs Rae Hall for her calm, thoughtful and focused leadership as Head of Learning Middle College since 2012. Mrs Hall has contributed very strongly to the shaping of the Culture of Thinking and the professional development of teachers to provide a vibrant and contemporary approach to learning. We also thank Mrs Jo Belchamber for her very professional leadership of the Learning Enrichment area since 2016. Mrs Belchamber has led the enhancement of opportunities, and professional development of teachers to cater for the diversity of learners including more able students.  We thank Mr Mark Hauser for his strong and capable leadership as Head of Senior College Students. His development of student leadership at the senior level was greatly appreciated and set new traditions. Parents, staff and students have benefitted from the generosity of time, strong support and capable leadership provided by these staff. We wish Mrs Belchamber, Mrs Hall and Mr Hauser all the best as they take on new roles at the College in 2022 as Head of Learning Middle College, Head of English and Chaplain.

We wish Mrs Colleen Beattie and Mrs Abigail Blessing every blessing as they take maternity leave next year and welcome new babies into their families.  We also wish a time of rejuvenation and rest to Mr Ben Dutton who will be taking long service leave in Term 1 of 2022. 

Due to expanding enrolments and staff changes, we look forward to welcoming the following highly capable leaders and teachers in 2022.  Mrs Kim Bonello Director of Staff (Head of Business, and Year 12 Co-Ordinator, Prince of Peace Lutheran College, Everton Hills), Mrs Chantal McAllister, Head of Learning Enrichment P-12 (Senior Manager Differentiation, and EAL/D and Gifted and Talented, Northern Territory Department of Education), Mrs Carlie Purkis, Head of Music (Acting Head of Music Trinity Grammar, Summer Hill, Sydney), Mr Philip Wyatt Head of Humanities (currently Matthew Flinders Anglican College, previously Head of Humanities at Christchurch Boys’ High School), Mrs Lisa Stevens, Middle and Senior College Drama teacher (Magdalene Catholic College, previously Head of Drama at Abbotsleigh College, Wahroonga, experienced HSC marker), Mrs Gillian Haylock, Middle and Senior College English Teacher (Immanuel Lutheran College, Maroochydore), Mrs Holly Gricks, Middle and Senior College Christian Studies teacher (Immanuel Lutheran College, Adelaide), Ms Patricia Barone, Middle and Senior Mathematics (Grace Lutheran College, previously Coordinator of Mathematics, Caboolture campus), Mr Paul Cusick P-12 Music Teacher (Good Shepherd Lutheran College,) Ms Rebecca Abnett Middle and Senior Mathematics and Science teacher (Kawana State College), Mr Graham Kanowski, Middle and Senior College Mathematics and Science, Ms Lucy Comerford Hospitality teacher, Mr Ben Stewart Industrial Technology and Design Teacher and Mrs Leonie Prout Foundation College teacher (returning from leave).

We look forward to welcoming these new staff into our community and wish all staff, students and parents a happy and blessed Christmas.

Dr Bronwyn Dolling, Principal